Around the Suns - Weekly Roundup - Week 18

Join us as we review the highs and lows of the last week, as well as previewing the week ahead.

Week 18: 17-23 February

Week Record: 1-2

Overall Record: 27-30. 11th in the Western Conference.

Games Played and Results:

L - 109 - 120 Vs San Antonio Spurs

W - 121 - 117 Vs Chicago Bulls

L - 109 - 127 Vs Toronto Raptors

Centre of The Sun

Another disappointing week to be a Suns fan. It's all the usual reasons why, bad starts to games, bad defence, unforced turnovers and no one running back on D. I was hoping coming out of the break that the Suns would be rejuvenated, but all week we saw the same symptoms as before.

Bud did try a change that we've all been calling out for for a while and that is moving Tyus Jones to the bench and re-inserting Bradley Beal. Beal returned from injury after the break and played well against the Spurs. I think Bud wanted to see Tyus with the starters one more time with the team at full strength, before pulling him. He obviously saw enough from Tyus and Beal to help the decision.

Before the Spurs game we got the unfortunate news that Wemby will miss the rest of the season. That's sad for basketball, however I thought it meant we'd have a chance against San Antonio. Boy was I wrong. The Spurs actually looked like a team that wanted to play - we didn't. The only real bright spot was Royce O'Neale who had a career high 27 points.

The Chicago game was our only win of the week, even though the Suns showed all the same issues as usual. The difference in this one was that Beal, Book and KD all had great games, all scoring at least 25 points.

Last up was Toronto, another young team and yep, you guessed it, they outran and out worked the Suns. Phoenix got the firs bucket of the game, but that was their only lad of the night. Book and Beal played well on offense, but Toronto were still able to build a 19 point lead in the 3rd quarter. Book did lead a charge getting the Suns to within 2, but then the Raptors exploded from 3, hitting 6 3's on their next 7 possessions and it was over for Phoenix.

Other Suns Stuff

Beal's Points Milestone

Facing the Spurs, Beal passed the 17,000 career points mark.

Royce's Big Game

As previously mentioned, Royce scored a career high 27 points against the Spurs. He matched his career high with 6 3-pointers in the game.

Rivals

Book and his biggest rival, The Raptor seem to have put their dark past behind them, as they were all hugs before the game and even played a game of foosball.

Superstar Watch (Season stats):

Devin Booker - 26.1 Points, 4.0 Rebounds, 6.7 Assists, 1.1 Steals, 45.2 FG%, 34.3 3PT FG% & 2.7 Turnovers

Kevin Durant - 26.9 Points, 6.0 Rebounds, 4.2 Assists, 0.9 Steals, 1.4 Blocks, 53.2 FG%, 40.1 3PT FG% & 3.0 Turnovers

Bradley Beal - 17.9 Points, 3.6 Rebounds, 3.5 Assists, 1.1 Steals, 0.6 Blocks, 50.6 FG%, 39.9 3PT FG% & 2.0 Turnovers

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Scorching Suns:

Bradley Beal

As discussed, Beal returned from injury and then to the starting line-up this week. He was on top form for scoring, with the highlight being 30 points on 80% shooting against the Raptors.

His stats for the week:

24.7 Points, 6.3 Rebounds, 3.7 Assists, 62.5 FG% & 36.4 3PT FG%

Struggling Suns:

Tyus Jones

Jones has finally been moved out of the starting line-up. He was an awful 1 for 6 against the Spurs, then followed this up in his bench role by missing all 4 of his shot attempts. I don't think I've ever seen a shooting percentage this bad from a regular player since starting this newsletter.

He did get 6 assists with 0 turnovers against the Bulls though.

His stats for the week:

1.7 Points, 2.0 Rebounds, 4.0 Assists, 1.0 Steals, 0.67 FG% & 1.00 3PT FG%

Stat Line(s) of the Week:

Royce O'Neale vs San Antonio Spurs

I had to celebrate Royce's career high, even though the hot shooting didn't continue the rest of the week.

Game stat line:

27 Points, 6 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 3 Steals, 10/16 FGs (62.5%) & 6/12 3PT FGs (50.0%).

Kevin Durant vs Chicago Bulls

Game stat line:

27 Points, 10 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 1 Block, 9/15 FGs (60.0%) & 3/6 3PT FGs (50.0%).

Bradley Beal Vs Toronto Raptors

Game stat line:

30 Points, 4 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 12/15 FGs (80.0%) & 1/2 3PT FGs (50.0%).

Honourable Mentions

Devin Booker Vs Chicago Bulls

Game stat line:

29 Points, 4 Rebounds, 8 Assists, 2 Steals, 10/20 FGs (50.0%) & 4/7 3PT FGs (57.1%).

Bradley Beal Vs Chicago Bulls

Game stat line:

25 Points, 6 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 2 Steals, 10/19 FGs (52.6%) & 3/7 3PT FGs (42.9%).

Nick Richards Vs Chicago Bulls

Game stat line:

15 Points, 10 Rebounds & 5/9 FGs (55.6%).

Rookie Watch (Season stats):

Ryan Dunn - 51 games, 28 starts

6.3 Points, 3.2 Rebounds, 0.8 Assists, 0.4 Steals, 0.5 Blocks, 43.8 FG%, 30.6 3PT FG% & 0.4 Turnovers

Oso Igodharo - 42 games, 2 starts

3.4 Points, 3.2 Rebounds, 1.0 Assists, 0.4 Steals, 0.4 Blocks, 57.4 FG%, 0.0 3PT FG% (1 attempt) & 0.5 Turnovers

Jalen Bridges - 5 games

0.8 Points, 0.6 Rebounds, 0.0 Assists, 0.0 Steals, 0.0 Blocks, 25.0 FG%, 25.0 3PT FG% & 0.8 Turnovers

Upcoming Games:

Here are the UK tip-off times:

This week is where the real onslaught of tough games begin, facing the Grizzlies and Timberwolves. Memphis keep trading the 2nd and 3rd spot in the West with Denver and the Timberwolves are trying to secure the 6th spot and avoid the Play-In.

We have a back-to-back at home with the Pelicans. They are rock bottom of the West and recently come off a 10-game losing streak. They've been destroyed by injury all season and are trying to work Zion back into the rotation. Watch us go and lose at least one of these games 🙃

Prediction:

I'll try and be a bit optimistic. I'm going to guess that we'll lose to the Grizzlies and Timberwolves and win the 2 Pelicans games.

Predictions League:

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